


Persona 4: Endless Wind

by KennaKatsuji



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Not Beta Read, [Other Additional Tags to be Added]
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-05-25 03:45:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6178957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KennaKatsuji/pseuds/KennaKatsuji
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He’s been there and back. How many times does this make it now? Memories abundant and life repetitive, but the wishes remain and determination stays strong. Perseverance is never easy, but maybe he can make a difference this time. And if not, well… The sky is as blue as ever, and the wind continues on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Six Months

 

* * *

 

The first time it happened, Yosuke woke up screaming in pure terror and excruciating but phantom pain.

 

He had died. He was relatively certain of it.

 

Or at least ninety percent sure, since well…

 

Considering that he _felt_ physically alive and was currently sitting up in bed at four something in the morning, it was reasonable to assume that he was still alive. _None of this was real_ became his next thought, this room crafted as a byproduct of the fog, an insubstantial illusion created from the desires of his mind. He tried to stab himself in attempt to wake up, but the kunai that should have been in his hand was gone.

 

Within the next minute, his parents stormed in.

 

* * *

 

**10/04 - Monday (月)**

 

“Ohayo gozaimasu. My name is Yosuke Hanamura. My family and I just moved here from the city. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” I bow, a gentle smile on my face.

 

It’s funny, really, how my current introduction differs from the original. Though, to be honest, it’s getting hard to remember what I originally said. It’s kind of hard to feel… anything, really. Not that this kind of feeling is new to me. While hardly anything in life is new now, sometimes I’ll get a curveball that adds a cool twist to life. Anyway, I’m standing in front of the class, the teacher standing behind the podium and my name written out on the board. My familiar orange headphones rest around my neck, and my equally orange messenger bag clashes brightly against the Yasogami High school uniform.   

 

Chie Satonaka looks up at me with mild interest, though I can see she’s studying me. There’s another empty seat beside her; Yu Narukami has yet to move to Inaba. I look towards Yukiko Amagi. Her face is as politely blank as I remember it. When I stare long enough at Yukiko-san, I see Chie flicker her eyes in Yukiko-san’s direction with a disapproving frown on her face. It’s easy to see, really, that she already thinks I’m a pervert or another idiot creeper gunning after the school’s idol and her best friend. A long time ago, I would have considered myself a mixture of both, but now… they’re my precious friends, even if they aren’t my friends now. Plus, romance kind of messed me up more than once. I can’t seem to think the same way as before; too much and too little has changed.

 

I seem to be doing a lot of introspection and self-reflection these days.

 

I guess this kind of thing happens after you’ve been forced to repeat _life_ more than a couple of times.

 

Silence dominates as I stand there. The other students either awkwardly stare at me or zone out of the classroom entirely. Thankfully, Mooroka-sensei isn’t the teacher charged with introducing me, but I miss his antics despite his harsh demeanor.

 

“Hm… Rather short. Nothing else you want to say?” Kondo-sensei asks. I look to the side, close my eyes, and gently shake my head. It’s the same routine, and I find myself just going through the motions.

 

“Very well, have a seat by Yamada-san. She’s the girl with the yellow headband, a seat from the window in the fifth row.” Kondo-sensei ends, already turning around to begin the lesson.

 

If I hadn’t done this so many times, I would have probably walked to the seat the moment I stepped into the room. I’ve had the same seat for years now. No one bothers to talk to me, nor are there any whispered welcomes. Yet, I’m not disappointed by it in the least. I know the name of every single person in this room, his or her birthday, and at least one thing he or she likes. And wow, do I sound like a creep. Not that I can help it, I just… unconsciously pick up this sort of stuff after a while. I haven’t made any friends here yet despite being surrounded by all the familiar people. It’s my second day in Inaba, after all.

 

Class goes by rather fast, considering that I pay attention in class now. I need at least some way to pass the time, and tutoring does pay good money. The bell rings before I know it, and my notes look rather complete for someone who just got here.

 

I pack up and leave soon after, but not before approaching Chie for her number. Just like the rest of the Investigation Team’s numbers, I already know it by heart, but I need at least some reason as to why I would know. As usual, a coy smile mars her usually peppy face.

 

_A prank again, huh?_ I think to myself _._

 

“Why Hanamura-kun, whatever do you need my number for?” She sneers mischievously. Despite having gone through all this before, I know that another part of me breaks again, only to mend itself in the wrong way. I didn’t realize it at first, but then I had gradually noticed that I changed. It’s the part of me that wants something different to happen, a deviation from the usual routine. I called it ‘hope’ before, but I know now that it isn’t really that. I don’t know what it is anymore.

 

“In case I need to contact someone if I can’t attend that day. If there’s homework I missed, I would be grateful if I had at least one person in the class to ask about it.” I reply calmly, trying in vain to convey my serious intentions.

 

It’s happened in one of those timelines before, one where I didn’t join the Investigation Team from the start. The first time I got caught off guard has made me realize that I wanted to at least be in contact with the others before Namatame-san decided to throw me into the television. And even if the phones didn’t work there, Takehaya Susano-o has always had the uncanny ability to know the general direction of each of my friends. [Maybe it’s something that he picked up from Teddie.] That is, if Jiraiya feels like transfiguring into Takehaya Susano-o. Although Jiraiya’s powers change if he switches into Takehaya Susano-o, my persona likes staying as Jiraiya, and that’s fine with me.  

 

For a moment, she looks at me seriously, and I try to give a disarming smile. A different thought, _Why me?_ , flashes across her face. I wish she can have as much confidence as she will have when it comes time to face her shadow, but facing one’s self isn’t easy. I want her to be safe.

 

I want all of them to be safe.

 

“Alright, fine. Just give me a second.” Chie relents.

 

Even as my eyes close momentarily to smile, I don’t miss the mischievous smirk she tries to hides as she turns around to grab a piece of paper. Obviously, she’s scribbling down a random number, and I wonder who I’ll get to talk to this time. Last time, I coincidentally got the number of a yakuza oyabun and unwittingly became a guidance counselor of sorts for him. It was surreal but undeniably enjoyable. Later tonight, I’ll strike up another conversation with him again. Hopefully his reactions are still the same.

 

“Here”, She shoves into my chest, breaking my train of thought. I look down in surprise for several moments, before my hand finally decides to move towards the paper and gently take it from her. “Geez, aren’t you just the fastest.”

 

The irony of her statement is just another inside-joke for me.

 

There’s a look of annoyance on her face, but that twinkle in her eye is still there. She’s waiting for some sort of reaction, something I steadily find harder to portray. I guess the best way to describe it is one when  someone gets the same lecture over and over again, when he or she gets so bored that it feels like reading a textbook full of blank pages. And when I see something new, it feels like I’m wading through a thick swamp, a constant struggle to kickstart my feelings again. I think the shock is still on my face, but I feel it gradually crumbling into a blank look as I stare at the piece of paper.

 

* * *

 

As he stares blankly at the piece of paper, he misses the flash of concern on Chie’s face.

 

* * *

 

I find it hard not to burst out laughing, just like how Yukiko-san does when she finds something particularly humorous. My hands are slightly shaking from the effort, and I think – No, I _know_ – Chie notices. The anger in her eyes says as much as she glares up at me. Then, her frown changes almost immediately to a jabbing smile.  

 

“What? Something wrong?” Chie leans nonchalantly to the side. I slowly drop my hand, a bright smile on my face.

 

“No, thank you very much, Satonaka-san.” I reply cheerfully, the small piece of paper gripped tightly in my hand lighting up my whole day.

 

I turn away after a quick bow, heading towards the entrance of the school. I must have shocked her by how well I handled her remark, but I don’t want to see her expression. I can already feel it following me as I exit. There’s hurt and a whole lot of incredulity. We aren’t friends yet; I can’t get close. It’s hard to approach someone you know all about but who doesn’t know you.

 

No words can be said between us. _Real_ ones at least.

 

Once outside of the school, I look at the number again and actually laugh. There are neighbors looking at me weirdly, but I don’t mind. If someone had asked me if I wanted to stay in Inaba before all this started, I would have laughed at them. The peaceful town of Inaba brings a sense of balance I miss now, something I currently will never trade for the city. There’s the sound of bustling activity as I approach the Junes Department Store, the somewhat catchy tune playing through my ears. Chie probably doesn’t know how much she made my day with this one piece of paper.

 

On it, scribbled in Chie’s handwriting, is Yu Narukami’s number.

 

I laugh again, partly by the sheer coincidence of the situation. At the very least, it’s something new.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the chapter to the end. 
> 
> This story is the first work I have posted on this site. I haven't had anyone beta this, so if you see mistakes, please... feel free to let me know. You may also comment on any criticisms and/or plot holes you may find. This is the first time I am writing for the Persona 4 fandom, or rather for the Persona fandom in general... So perhaps I may have missed some things...


	2. Connections

* * *

 

Not every timeline was the same.

 

And not every timeline did he get sent back to the same point.

 

While most times he woke up on the day he first moved to Inaba, there were other times when he didn’t. Those times when he didn’t end up on October 3rd, 2010 were a struggle to go through, to say the very least. The ability to go back in time liked to be a pain in the neck, sometimes sending him back with an implicit “Screw you”. [At the very least it wasn’t literally. He hadn’t been sent back with a note that said ‘Screw you’ on it before. He would probably punch a wall if it did.]

 

And, yeah. He was still a bit bitter about it.

 

Being sent back just before the others failed to grab Yukiko-san out of the television was not okay. That was a story for another time though! If he was even willing to share it in the first place, let alone even try to think about...

 

To be honest, he had completely lost track of how many times he has gone back. He lost count after the seventeenth time. It had gotten so bad that he simply went with the flow now. Most of the everyday things, those little happenings that made up a person’s daily routine, didn’t happen the same way twice. However, some things managed to stay constant throughout each timeline, such as his father getting promoted or Yu moving to Inaba.

 

Sometimes, though, there were major changes. Sometimes, the changes were beyond his control. And sometimes, the very fact that he got sent back caused a change. This timeline, he thought, was probably a bit of both. Being sent back to when he was still going through elementary school had been a definite shock. And while getting to the point when he moved to Inaba had been fun and all, he was pretty sure he jumbled up the timeline enough for it to be noticeably different from what he considered normal, the word being defined more loosely as ‘Events that were relatively constant across the timelines’.

 

Moving to Inaba was normal.

 

Saving Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, and Naoto from their shadows was normal.

 

His mother working as a head programmer for the Kirijo Group wasn’t exactly normal, nor was going to a different elementary school than Hiro Elementary School. He had never been sent back as far as elementary school before, but now he knew it was a definite possibility. So when he finally managed to move to Inaba, it was like a fresh breath of air.

 

He’ll just have to make do with what already happened. 

 

* * *

 

The house is quiet at night, Dad out at work and Mom staying overtime at the office. Finished homework lay scattered on the desk. The darkness in my room contrasts my beaming desk lamp, the only light source I bother to keep on. Music blasts through my ears, trying to push out the silence. Not that it matters now. I used to hate the silence until I found that I craved it just as much as noise.

 

I open my eyes, staring across the room at the clock. The bed is soft and comforting, but the room is far from inviting. Boxes are lined up against one corner of the room, waiting to be unpacked slowly over the week. There’s actually not much I have to throw out this time, just another one of the perks of being sent back so early. No point in buying stuff you’ve already read too many times than you can count, right?

 

Teddie hasn’t moved in yet, hasn’t reached out from the television. The empty closet persists and the guest room stays cold. Adachi-san is set to transfer in about five months from now, with Yu moving in a month after that.

 

All in all, the house is incredibly empty.

 

My phone lies in front of me, along with a notebook filled with all the numbers I’ve remembered over the timelines. There aren’t enough to fill an entire page, but there’s enough to say that I have connections... Well, potential connections. Numbers of those who know about Shadows and Personas are listed on the top, but my eyes focus to the ones below them. Scrawled hurriedly, the number of the yakuza oyabun, Rando Takatsugu, is starred. By it, Takeo Katsuragi is also circled. My hand unconsciously tightens around the piece of paper Chie wrote on, but I realize what I’m doing and quickly unfurl my hand. The paper is now slightly crumpled, so I take some tape, smooth out the crinkles, and tape it to the notebook. I take my phone, breathe in deeply, and begin to text.

 

> **[Hana - > Taka]** Hello, I’m not bothering you, am I?

 

It’s a bit more formal than how I normally want to send texts, but Takatsugu-san would never understand my texts if I wrote informally. Then again, only Yu could translate my shorthand texts with perfect accuracy every single time. Even Chie had trouble, especially when I was in a rush and my texts came out more jumbled than usual. I look at Yu’s number but decide to strike up a conversation with him tomorrow. Tonight, I’m going to try and connect with contacts outside of Inaba. I may not have a lot of them saved and some might just ignore me outright, but I’m willing to try anyway.

 

> **[Hana - > Katsu]** Second night. 1st day of school was extremely uneventful… (- -;) How was yours?

 

I smile, relaxing back into the bed. I’ll have to cook dinner soon, but there’s an inevitable smile on my face. Connecting to others, to form bonds with them even if I’ll get hurt, is better than being alone. The times I manage to keep connections as the future events unfold in Inaba are rare, and re-connecting to the others still brings me one of the few moments of joy.

 

I’m not alone.

 

> **[Takatsugu]** _Who is this?_

 

> **[Katsuragi]** _That bad, huh? Not that it’s any better here, though Sugita got his ass kicked when Samui-sensei called on him in class today._

 

I laugh. Sounds like a typical day in class for my friends back at the city. Actually, it sounds like a typical day for all of us, except that I still have to unpack my things and we’re not going to the same school anymore.

 

> **[Hana - > Taka]** Ah, sorry. This is probably too sudden, but this Hanamura. I just have a question about class.

 

Takatsugu-sans’s answer is almost immediate.

 

> **[Takatsugu]** _Wrong number._

 

He sounds as cold as usual. Although that’s to be expected from a man in his position, yakuza and all. He’s a good person at heart though, and his bunch are a rowdy yet peace-loving group of people. I switch message threads, opening up Katsuragi’s newest text. I take a second to ponder on what to write [Because, really, the first day in Inaba has always been pretty plain.] and send the text off in less than a minute.

 

> **[Hana - > Katsu]** I asked a girl for her # because i didn’t have time to ask the teachers where the hell they stopped in the books. Must’ve seemed like a creep though, cause i got the wrong #.

 

I look at the clock, and it’s past eleven. I head over to the kitchen with my phone in tow.  There’s not much in the fridge right now besides some quick convenient store food, but I can make do for one night, at least. I reach for some juice before heading to the cabinet to grab the cup ramen that Katsuragi gave me just before I left. He said that the feeling behind the parting gift is what counts, and I can’t help but give a small smile to that. While I’m adding in the hot water, my phone buzzes on the counter. I clamp the ramen lid shut with a pair of disposable chopsticks and look at the phone. Another text from Katsuragi.

 

> **[Katsuragi]** _Ouch. Sounds like you might actually get that title of “The Disappointing Prince”. Bet you would’ve aced the question Sugita got hit with though. You always did get some of the best scores._

 

A few minutes pass by without a response, so I go back to my food. I take a picture of it with the juice and then send it to Katsuragi. Even though I never really talked one-on-one with Katsuragi during my time in the city, he’s always been more responsive to the texts I send him. Sugita and Juba tend to give me short replies that don’t really convey any emotion behind them.

 

I need a little time to think up a reply to Katsuragi though. He sounds a bit bitter at the end of it. I don’t think I’ll be getting another text from Takatsugu-san anytime tonight, but there’s no harm in sending one more. It also gives me more time to stall.

 

> **[Hana - > Taka]** I apologize for bothering you. I suppose my classmate was pulling a prank on me. I’ll have to ask her later. I hope you have a peaceful night.

 

Satisfied, I switch back to Katsuragi.

 

> **[Hana - > Katsu]** Hah, you may be right. But dude, is that jealousy i hear? Your scores weren’t too far off from mine! ( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) Heck, if we’re talking about scores, we should both be worrying about Sugita!

 

> **[Katsuragi]** _Yeah… you’re right. Sugita’s scores are abysmal. At least Juba takes some time off the weekends to catch up on material each week. Maybe I am a little jealous too… you always grasped concepts so easily. And hey, is that the instant ramen I bought for you?_

 

> **[Hana - > Katsu]** Yes, yes it is. (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ And well, we may be in different schools now, but i’m positive the material’s pretty much the same everywhere…

 

> **[Katsuragi]** _Ha ha, now you’re the one sounding condescending. Did they teach something we already learned over there? I’ve noticed that your words are a bit more… complete than usual_ _too. Are you really that bored?_

 

I choke on my ramen a bit before I furiously text him back. 

 

> **[Hana - > Katsu]** Shut up! The moment i have the time to text properly and all i get is skepticism!? You even said you can’t read my normal texting 40% of the time! And here i am making an effort to actually type texts you’ll understand... (ಠ^ಠ #)

 

> **[Katsuragi]** _There’s the Hanamura I know. Alright, I’ll stop teasing. Guess I got worked up over nothing. Means my head’s starting to give out on me. Call it quits for now?_

 

> **[Hana - > Katsu]** Yeah, yeah. Go to bed, old man.

 

> **[Katsuragi]** _You’re older than me. C:_

 

> **[Hana - > Katsu]** Ignoring you said that.

 

> **[Katsuragi]** _And I’ll remind you the next time. Be well, Hanamura._

 

> **[Hana - > Katsu]** Ignoring that too! And night.

 

I set my phone down and finish eating my ramen. There’s one more person I need to text tonight before I head to bed, but it can wait after my shower.

 

The clock strikes midnight.

 

My head immediately turns to  the small, temporary television that’s been set up in the corner of the living room. I almost expect to see static and the silhouette of someone in the shadows of the Midnight Channel.

 

Nothing happens.

 

I scoff. All this reminiscing must be getting to my head. Of course nothing would be on. Adachi-san and Namatame-san have yet to arrive. I trash the empty ramen cup, shaking off my thoughts. After a good shower, I hold up my phone to send my last message for the night.

 

> **[Hana - > P.N.]** How was practice today? Make sure to watch your health. Keep up the good work! 

 

* * *

 

The house is silent, the sky still dark. The lone occupant of the house, having long gone to bed, remains fast asleep.

 

With a hushed click, the sound of quiet static fills the living room.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those who left Kudos. 
> 
> And thank you for those who actually took the time to read this story. I gave names to Yosuke's other city friends and Katsuragi a first name. I hope you enjoyed the second chapter.


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